By Jerry Rosie (USUA #A86096)

The end of the Ultralight flying season is at hand as is predicted by the few number of newsletters we received this month. Despite the small number of newsletters received, we are happy to report that they contain two great reports of flying adventures.

The first is the Greater Thumb Ultralight Flyers of Michigan's report of their annual Fall Thumb Tour. For those who are unfamiliar with this event, it is a well-organized and conducted tour to the "thumb" of land that juts into Lake Huron. The group flies a circuit touching five or six airports to return to the starting point. Pilots are welcome to join the tour at any point, and to leave it when they desire, as long as they have pre-registered so that the organizers know what to expect. The circuit is supported by a well organized ground crew that includes a mobile control tower, fuel, a recovery vehicle and most importantly, food and drink for all.

This year's tour started at 0815 with five aircraft, braving the estimated 15-20 mile an hour winds following an early morning drizzle, departing Ray Community Airport. They arrived, dodging low clouds all the way, at Croswell, only 15 minutes behind schedule, where the first refueling was accomplished, and more aircraft joined the formation.

Apparently thirteen aircraft left Croswell because the report says "Twelve Planes flew up the Huron coastline, and the view was as spectacular as ever". Only twelve planes flew up the shoreline because Mark Gray's Kolb suffered an engine out on takeoff. Good piloting skills allowed Mark to land his stricken aircraft before running out of runway, with no injuries and no damage.

The group was greeted by a crowd of well wishers as they arrived at the next touchdown point, Messier's Farm. The local papers had published the news of the event and "Everyone in the town of Ruth and for miles around knew about our arrival and showed up to check out the planes. One man, Merlin Stacer of Ruth, who had taken photos of each plane last year, began passing them out to the plane's owners this year."

The next stop, Grindstone City Airport, produced Pizza and lemonade provided by Al Bumhoffer and Don and Mrs. Larson of the ground crew. It is noteworthy that this group had also cleaned up this little used grass strip and set up tables and chairs for the comfort of the touring pilots. After lunch and a visit to the "port-a-potty", the group departed for Sebewing which, on their arrival, appeared nearly abandoned. Despite poor runway conditions, no landing incidents occurred, and it was here that the "group photo", showing (as I counted them) 17 smiling faces of pilots and ground crew, was taken.

Arrival at the final destination, Marlette, signaled the completion of another successful "Thumb Tour" conducted by the G.T.U.F. Well done, guys and gals.

The Shirley, MA "Crowhopper Times" reports a solo achievement in "Jeff Bean's Grand Adventure". Jeff's long time dream was to fly his Trike from his home airport in Fitchburg, MA to Nova Scotia. He began this adventure at 1345 hours on Saturday 20 August with two equipment failures requiring a return to the airport, followed by rapidly deteriorating weather. He wisely delayed his departure until the following day, and since this column is getting a bit lengthy, I think I will delay filing the rest of his report until the next issue of Around the Patch. I promise some interesting reading with some "lessons learned" and "points to ponder". So come on back next month to see if Jeff made it.

If you run out of aviation related reading before next month, check out www.papalotzin.com It is the website providing a daily account of the journey of Francisco Guteierrez in his trike as he follows the migratory flight of the Monarch Butterfly from Canada to Mexico. Here's a short quote from that website:

"Papalotzin (from Nahuatl (Aztec), Papalotl = butterfly and tzin = royal) or royal butterfly, is the name that Francisco "Vico" Gutiérrez has chosen for his ultralight plane. The plane, decorated as a Monarch butterfly, will follow the migration of the Monarchs from southeastern Canada to the sanctuaries in central Mexico. The objective of this remarkable journey is to increase awareness of the challenges that the Monarchs face throughout their astonishing journey to Mexico and back."

The site is replete with both English and Spanish descriptions of his flight, his stops, and his acquaintances and numerous well presented pictures of the trip.

Ya'all fly safe, now - ya' hear!!